Backshophoss wrote:Attempting to keep the air line charged with air by closing the valve on the standing cars before the power moves away and gladhands part.Normally the valve is not closed on the standing cars to allow the brakes to go into Emergency.

It was a tough week for Amtrak across upstate New York, with track congestion, weather and mechanical issues all contributing to delays and cancellations. Many of the delays occurred west of Utica but affected the Capital Region.

Locomotive mechanical issues on Wednesday forced the cancellation of the Adirondack in both directions between Albany and Montreal, as well as another train from Niagara Falls to New York City. A replacement train operated from Albany to New York City.

There were some other cancellations as well. This, just a few days after two cars of the southbound Adirondack detached from the rest of the train between Rensselaer and Hudson.

No one was injured in the incident and Amtrak officials said the train’s safety systems worked as designed, immediately stopping both sections of the train. The separation occurred between the first and second passenger cars on the railroad’s Adirondack service, said Jason Abrams, an Amtrak spokesman. “Separation of train cars is rare, and we are actively investigating this incident,” he said.

Abrams said the two cars involved in last Wednesday’s incident have been taken to a maintenance facility for further inspection. The locomotive’s event data recorder has also been downloaded, and the information retrieved shows the train was operating within the authorized speed.

He said there was one locomotive and six passenger cars on the route, which travels from Montreal to New York City. The incident happened around 7:22 p.m., 17 miles south of Albany. Passengers were moved to another train to continue with their trip.

The incident wasn’t the only issue that Amtrak travelers faced during the busy Thanksgiving travel holiday. On Sunday, passengers on a Boston-bound train were stuck for more than five hours after their Acela train lost power shortly after leaving New York’s Penn Station around 9:40 a.m.

Amtrak officials tried to compensate by offering the passengers food and free nonalcoholic beverages, but some on the train said as the hours wore on, the train became stuffy and the toilets stopped working. Crew members opened doors to let in fresh air. Abrams said Amtrak officials are contacting passengers to offer compensation.